Garment



May 30, 1939.

D. ROTHST EI N GARMENT Filed Nov. 5

INVENTOR OOPOTH POTHSTE/N ATTORNEY Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE GARMENT Dorothy Rothstein, New York, N. Y. ApplicationNovember 5, 1938, Serial'No. 238,985

3 Claims.

This invention relates to garments such as dresses, play suits orbathingsuits for girls or women.. I

An object of this invention is to provide a gar,- ment of the characterdescribed which when worn will eliminate the necessity for wearingunderwe'ar, and which will nevertheless conceal the crotch portion ofthe body of the wearer, when the wearer sits, moves about, exercises orassumes almost any position, while permitting perfect freedom ofmovement.

Heretofore, play suits or bathing suits for girls or women have beenmade by combining a pair of pants or shorts with a skirt thereover tomake the garment look feminine. In accordance with the presentinvention, the garment is not a modification of any pants or shorts, thepants or shorts being wholly eliminated, whereby the garment is Whollyfeminine in appearance.

The improved garment has a skirt with a diaphragm or bottom beneath,stitched to the skirt below the waistline, eliminating restriction ofthe legs and producing an attractive appearance.

In priorplay suits or bathing suits for women,

the pants part of the, garment had to be snug on the'legs, otherwise,underwear had to be worn. With my garment although there is noconstricting snugness, yet there is perfect concealment Withoutnecessity: for underwear beneath the skirt. In previous play suits orbathing suits, when the skirt part was lifted pants were revealed, whichis not feminine looking. In myimprovedggarment, if the skirt is lifted,the appearance is that the entire skirt is lined underneath with onlythe legs coming through, and there is no pants exposed;

Another object of this inventionis to provide a rugged and durable,garment of the character described, which will fit a relatively largevariety of figures, which shall be relatively inexpensive tomanufacture, attractive and wholly feminine in appearance, and yetpractical and efficient to a high degree.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed. out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and. arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction. hereinafter described, and of which thescope of application will be 7 indicated in the following claims.

embodying the invention, with parts broken away;

' Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken 2-.2 of, ig. ,1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the garment shown in Fig. l, with thedress opened out into horizontal position;

Fig; 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of-Fig. 3; 1

Fig. 5 is a top planview of a piece of cloth from which the skirt ismade; and V Fig. 6 is a plan view of a piece of cloth from which theskirt bottom is made. I

Referring now in detail to the drawing, I designates a garment,embodying the invention. The invention is here shown in the form of adress or play suit for a little girl. The same comprises a waist portionII provided with sleeves I2, a-skirt portion I3, and a combination skirtlining and bottom I4.

The skirt portion I3 is made from a flat circular'piece of cloth Ihaving a central opening I6. Thepiece of cloth I5 may be provided with aradial dart I1, extending outwardly from opening I6, for the purposehereinafter appearing. The opening It forms the waistline for the skirtI3.

The skirt bottom I4 is made from a flat circular piece of cloth I8, ofsubstantially the same diameter as the piece of cloth I5. The piece ofcloth I8 is formed with two similar holes I9,

on line symmetrically disposed about a diametrical'line passingthroughsaid piece of cloth and'extending from front to rear (top to bottom inFig. 6). The openings I9 eventually form leg openings through which thelegs of the wearer pass.

Looking at Fig. 6 of the drawing, the bottom of the piece of cloth I8-will be at the rear of the dress, and the top will be at the front. I

The openings I9 are closer to the front than to the rear, to allow moreroom at the rear than at the front. The openings I9 have straight inneredges 20, inclined toward the front, as shown in Fig. 6. Extending fromthe rear ends of the straight edges 20, are substantially semicircularedges 2| connected to the front ends of said straight edges by inwardlycurved edges Zla.

In making the dress, the piece of material I5 is placed on the piece ofmaterial l8 to register therewith, with the dart I! on a diametric linebetween the openings I9 and rearwardly of said openings.

The pieces of cloth I5 and I8 are then stitched together by a circularline of stiching 22, adjacent the outer registering edges of said pieceswardly and stitched together by said line of stitching 22. The pieces ofcloth I and I8 may then be stitched together by a plurality of circular,concentric lines of stitching 23. The innermost line of stitching 23preferably has a radius about half the radius of the piece of cloth I5.

The openings I9 are located in the central portion 30 of the piece ofcloth I8, within the innermost circular line of stitching 23. Thediameter of the opening I6 is preferably less than the diameter of theportion 30 of the piece of material I8.

The waist portion II of the garment maybe made in any suitable manner,and is stitched to the upper end of the skirt I3 by a line of stitching32. The body II may be provided with slide actuated fasteners 33 at therear. Said fasteners 33 may be attached to the edges of the dart or slitI'I, so as to extend down below the top of the skirt I3.

It will now be noted that the portion 3| of the piece of cloth I8between the smallest line of stitching 23 and the largest circular lineof stitching 22, constitutes a lining for the skirt I3, and the portionI3 constitutes a diaphragm which contacts the legs of the wearer only atthe rim edges of the openings I9. Any suitable decorative binding 35 maybe attached to the edges of the openings I9.

It will now be understood that when the skirt is lifted, the body of thewearer above the openings I 9 is entirely concealed, thus eliminatingthe necessity for separate pants or shorts.

It will be noted that no part of the garment hugs or constricts the legsor hips of the wearer, with the exception of the edges at the openingsI9, thereby permitting freedom of body movement and permitting thegarment to fit different figures.

Play suits or bathing suits have heretofore been made of a skirt portionand a pants portion. The present dress does not have a pants portion,but merely a diaphragm on the underside of the skirt provided with apair of openings for the legs. The leg openings I9 being located closerto the front of the piece of material I8, provide additional material atthe rear necessary for comfort to the wearer. Since the inner edges ofthe openings I9 diverge towards the rear, the garment gives thenecessary comfort of movement while effectively concealing the crotch ofthe wearer.

If desired, the portion of piece of cloth I8 between the inner line ofstitching 23 and the outer edge thereof, may be omitted.

Although the invention has been illustrated in the drawing in the formof a play suit or dress for a little girl, it will be understood thatthe invention may be embodied in dresses, play suits or bathing suitsfor women as well as girls.

It will be also understood that the pieces of cloth I5 and I8 may bemade of a number of pieces of cloth stitched together or all in onepiece, as shown in the drawing. Furthermore, the pieces of cloth I5 andI8 need not form complete circles, but may comprise segments of circles,it being preferable, however, that the bottom member comprise a piece ofcloth which registers with the portion of the skirt above the top lineof stitching 23.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which theseveral objects of this inven-'- tion are achieved, and which is welladapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A play suit having a skirt portion made of a fiat circular piece ofcloth, having a central opening forming the waistline of the skirtportion, and a combination lining and bottom for said skirt made of aflat circular piece of cloth of substantially the same diameter as thediameter of the skirt portion, stitched to the underside of said skirtportion by a plurality of concentric circular lines of stitching, thecentral portion of said second circular piece of cloth being unstit'chedto the skirt and provided with a pair of openings symmetrically disposedabout a diametric line, to receive the legs of the wearer.

2. In a garment, a skirt, and a flat substantially circular piece ofcloth attached to the underside of the skirt on a circular line nearerto the waistband than the lower edge of the skirt and having a pair ofleg openings formed therein.

3. In a garment, a skirt made of a fiat circular piece of cloth, havinga central opening forming the waistline of the skirt, and a combinationlining and diaphragm for said skirt made of a flat circular piece ofcloth substantially the same size as the piece of cloth from which theskirt is made, said'lining being stitched to the underside of the skirtat its lower edge portion and also at its intermediate portion at apoint nearer to the waistline than the lower edge of the skirt, saiddiaphragm portion having its central portion unattached to the skirt andprovided with a pair of leg openings.

DOROTHY ROTHSTEIN.

